On Friday (9th February), Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lashed out at Sonia Gandhi and the economic mismanagement of the UPA government under her watch.
“Leadership was at the heart of UPA’s mismanagement and corruption-driven 10 years of government. The central problem point during UPA era was a rudderless and leaderless government,” she said.
Nirmala Sitharaman further emphasised, “Sonia Gandhi acted as the ‘Super Prime Minister’ as Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC).”
Leadership was at the heart of UPA's mismanagement and corruption-driven 10 years of government. The central problem point during UPA era was a rudderless and leaderless government.
— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) February 9, 2024
Smt Sonia Gandhi acted as the 'Super Prime Minister' as Chairperson of the NAC. NAC had… pic.twitter.com/3gahLpMsc6
“NAC had unaccountable and unconstitutional powers. Why did files go to such an unaccountable and unanswerable body for approval,” she added.
The Union Finance Minister made the comments during the discussion on the white paper on the Indian economy presented by the BJP government in the Parliament.
Earlier on 3rd February, Nirmala Sitharaman hit out at the political propaganda of former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan during an interview with journalist Rahul Kanwal of India Today.
“Should I respond to him as Raghuram Rajan the economist or Raghuram Rajan the politician? Because Raghuram Rajan had also told us that we shouldn’t invest anymore in manufacturing and concentrate on other services,” she stated.
When FM Nirmala Sitharaman woke up & decided to choose Violence against Con-Economist Raghuram Rajan 😎 pic.twitter.com/ZP987cUjcl
— Mihir Jha (@MihirkJha) February 9, 2024
The Union Finance Minister added, “So I find it difficult to take Raghuram Rajan’s advice also because he was here holding a very responsible position as Governor of Reserve Bank of India.”
“Banks were in torment as the regulator looked the other way and phone calls were going to banks. So, Raghuram Rajan, make up your mind when you speak to the government and then nudge the media to go ask the government questions,” Nirmala Sitharaman continued.
She urged Raghuram Rajan to specify at the beginning of his statements whether they are motivated by his economic knowledge or political affiliation.
